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astrid · 06-08-2006, 06:19 AM

Olivia; Have you been to a genetic counselor to determine your chances?. Certain people have a higher chance of inheriting BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene changes. Things that increase your chance include:

A close family member with a known BRCA1 or BRCA2 change.
One or more close family members with breast cancer, ovarian cancer, or both. Your chance of cancer is higher if either of these cancers occurred before age 50, if several family members had these cancers, if the breast or ovarian cancer occurred in both breasts or ovaries, or if one family member had both cancers.
A male family member with breast cancer.
A family member younger than age 50 with breast cancer who is of Eastern European or Ashkenazi Jewish descent.
A family member with ovarian cancer who is of Eastern European or Ashkenazi Jewish descent.

When I was diagnosed in November, I went to a genetic counselor. My sister was diagnosed at age 37 with Breast cancer and my grandmother was diagnosed at age 43. My sister died at 40 and my grandmother died at 53. The genetic counselor said I only had a 20% chance of the mutation because I had no other family history. Most breast cancers are random or it could be BRCA17 and we can not test for that yet. If you only have second degree relatives it is unlikely that you have the genetic mutation. My genetic testing results came back and they were negative of all genetic mutations.

The genetic testing is very expensive. There is only one lab that does the testing and most insurance companies do not pay the whole tab. You will most likely have to pay $500. Before you push for genetic testing you need to consider what you will do with the results. Will you have a double mastectomy? Will you have your ovaries out? You are young do you really want to change who you are? I was very thankful that my testing was negative because I know that a positive result runs risk of a 40-70% chance of reoccurrence; however I was not going to do the radical surgery because my sister had a mastectomy and she still reoccurred and died. I want to treat this cancer first and then maybe after 5 years when I was sure this cancer has not metastasized I would do the radical surgeries.

06-08-2006, 06:19 AM	#3
astrid Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Central North Carolina, USA Posts: 112	Olivia; Have you been to a genetic counselor to determine your chances?. Certain people have a higher chance of inheriting BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene changes. Things that increase your chance include: A close family member with a known BRCA1 or BRCA2 change. One or more close family members with breast cancer, ovarian cancer, or both. Your chance of cancer is higher if either of these cancers occurred before age 50, if several family members had these cancers, if the breast or ovarian cancer occurred in both breasts or ovaries, or if one family member had both cancers. A male family member with breast cancer. A family member younger than age 50 with breast cancer who is of Eastern European or Ashkenazi Jewish descent. A family member with ovarian cancer who is of Eastern European or Ashkenazi Jewish descent. When I was diagnosed in November, I went to a genetic counselor. My sister was diagnosed at age 37 with Breast cancer and my grandmother was diagnosed at age 43. My sister died at 40 and my grandmother died at 53. The genetic counselor said I only had a 20% chance of the mutation because I had no other family history. Most breast cancers are random or it could be BRCA17 and we can not test for that yet. If you only have second degree relatives it is unlikely that you have the genetic mutation. My genetic testing results came back and they were negative of all genetic mutations. The genetic testing is very expensive. There is only one lab that does the testing and most insurance companies do not pay the whole tab. You will most likely have to pay $500. Before you push for genetic testing you need to consider what you will do with the results. Will you have a double mastectomy? Will you have your ovaries out? You are young do you really want to change who you are? I was very thankful that my testing was negative because I know that a positive result runs risk of a 40-70% chance of reoccurrence; however I was not going to do the radical surgery because my sister had a mastectomy and she still reoccurred and died. I want to treat this cancer first and then maybe after 5 years when I was sure this cancer has not metastasized I would do the radical surgeries.